LOS ANGELES, Calif. (July 19, 2017) – Charlotte comes in as the top small market and number 26 overall on CBRE’s Tech Talent Scorecard, part of its fifth annual Scoring Tech Talent Report.

The report, which can be viewed in detail by market in the interactive Tech Talent Analyzer, finds that strong demand for talent that offer specific skills, such as software development, coupled with a tight labor supply, is driving companies to locate in markets with the largest concentrations of high quality talent. And while value is a key driver when it comes to choosing an office location, companies are showing that they are willing to pay a premium to access the highest quality tech talent.

“Since the cost of talent is the largest expense for most firms, the quality of that tech talent is becoming one of their most important considerations. The skills of the available labor pool do not appear to align with available jobs, causing a structural impediment to growth for companies across North America,” said Colin Yasukochi, director of research and analysis for CBRE and the report’s author.

Charlotte nearly doubled its tech talent pool from 2011 to 2016, increasing by 77.1 percent, which was the highest increase (by percent change) among all 50 markets in the study. The second largest increase was in Tampa, at 55 percent, and both San Francisco and Raleigh-Durham experienced 50 percent jumps in talent during the same time frame.

Tech Talent Scorecard

The top 10-ranked cities on the Tech Talent Scorecard were all large markets, each with a tech labor pool of more than 50,000. The San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Toronto, Raleigh-Durham, Austin, Boston and Dallas/Ft. Worth made up the top 10.

The rankings for the Tech Talent Scorecard are determined based on 13 unique metrics including tech talent supply, growth, concentration, cost, completed tech degrees, industry outlook for job growth, and market outlook for both office and apartment rent cost growth.

Helping to elevate its ranking on the Scorecard, Charlotte stood out in the report in a number of key areas:

Charlotte is the largest of the small tech markets and has almost 50,000 tech workers.

Charlotte boasts an educational attainment rate of 42 percent.

Charlotte stands out as a strong tech job creator and tech talent attractor, with more than 17,000 more tech jobs than graduates, behind only the San Francisco Bay Area, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Seattle and Atlanta.

Charlotte’s millennial population has grown by 13.3 percent since 2010, behind only Pittsburgh, Hartford, San Antonio and Cleveland among small markets.

Charlotte has the 10th lowest apartment rent-to-tech wage ratio, making it an affordable and attractive market for tech talent.

Charlotte’s established financial services firms have helped to draw in tech talent and form a tech cluster.

Charlotte was tied with Nashville for the fourth lowest office vacancy (8.1 percent) among the top 50 tech markets, behind only the San Francisco Bay Area, New York and Madison, Wisconsin.

“With a low cost of living, and a tech cluster formed around Charlotte’s established financial services industry, Charlotte is an excellent destination for both tech talent and tech employers, said Compie Newman, managing director of CBRE’s Charlotte office. “Charlotte’s strong educational attainment and sizable increase in millennials situate it for further growth in tech talent and jobs.”

To view the full report, please click here. To view individual markets statistics and rankings, including rankings on the Scorecard, click to access the Tech Talent Analyzer.